Chapter 5
As soon as she heard Liu Wenjie agree to help, little Xia Ying's inner tension weakened considerably—a reliable big brother indeed.
"Th-thank you."
She carefully handed over the hair clip, now snapped in two.
After Liu Wenjie took it, he realized the damage was severe: the resin strawberry where it attached to the clip was also on the verge of falling off.
Better to buy a new one.
"Is this hair clip very important to you?"
Her voice was soft and sweet: "Dad gave it to me for my birthday."
No wonder, Liu Wenjie thought. Ever since he'd known this girl, she'd never changed her hair clip. He'd assumed she owned a bunch and rotated them, like how boys have piles of clothes in their closets. Turned out it had Dad's special bonus.
Then it looked like fixing it was the only option.
Liu Wenjie called out, "Mom, where do we keep the glue?"
Lin Xiaoli, hearing the shout from the kitchen, opened the kitchen door and said, "Glue? It's in the toolbox in the corner of the balcony—why?"
"Nothing, I'm just helping Xia Ying stick something back together."
He walked to the balcony, found the toolbox, and took out the glue.
Little Xia Ying hurried after him and stayed glued to his side.
Liu Wenjie squatted on the floor, opened the glue, and warned her first: "Let me tell you right now—after it's glued, it'll definitely still have cracks. It won't be perfect again."
"Perfect again... what does that mean? I don't understand..."
Talking to kids was exhausting: "It means it won't work as well as before."
Little Xia Ying gave a small sound of acknowledgment: "It's okay. Is it hard to glue?"
"Gluing isn't hard, but if this thing is really important to you, I suggest you don't wear it every day. Find a box and keep it safe, or if it breaks again we might not be able to fix it."
"I can't wear it..." Little Xia Ying felt a bit disappointed, but as long as it could be glued it was fine. "I understand. I'll listen to Older Brother Wenjie; from today on I won't wear it."
Because the piece was so small, glue would usually overflow when attaching it, yet Liu Wenjie noticed his hands were unusually steady today—perfect control.
Could the Intelligence boost from the system today also improve precision?
As expected of me.
He showed the glued hair clip to little Xia Ying: "All done. Can you even tell?"
Xia Ying stared at the clip, which seemed restored to its original shape, and her previously wronged little face instantly brightened.
He placed the hair clip on the balcony: "Don't touch it yet; let the glue dry in the sun for a while."
From afar, Dad and Mom called the two of them to dinner: "Little Xia Ying, Little Jie, dinner's ready! Go wash your hands so we can eat!"
Liu Wenjie answered, "Coming!"
Little Xia Ying stared at the clip sitting there: "It's already glued?"
"Yep, that's it—just needs to dry." He strode toward the bathroom; a small body supplying such a smart brain got hungry easily.
Nutrition couldn't be neglected.
Little Xia Ying watched Liu Wenjie's back, her small hands clenched, eyes shining with admiration—he was so amazing; he could do anything.
"Thank you, Older Brother Wenjie."
"No need to be polite—go wash your hands for dinner."
The two little ones washed their hands one after the other and sat at the table.
Lin Xiaoli looked at little Xia Ying's well-behaved appearance. Because the chair was tall, her legs couldn't reach the ground and were tucked inward.
Lin Xiaoli nearly died from the cuteness. She couldn't help patting Xia Ying's head again: "Little Xia Ying, how are you so pretty? How are you so good? When you grow up, why don't you marry your Little Jie Older Brother?"
"Mm?" Xia Ying didn't quite understand what "marry" meant; she blinked in confusion, yet seeing Aunt Lin's expression she instinctively sensed this wasn't a small matter.
Liu Wenjie nearly choked on his water, shooting his mom a look of disdain.
Lin Xiaoli said worriedly, "What's wrong, son? Drink your water slowly."